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Drug can curb delusions

This undated photo provided by Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. shows a bottle of Nuplazid, a drug that was tested for treating psychosis related to dementia. If regulators agree, the drug could become the first treatment specifically for dementia-related psychosis and the first new medicine for Alzheimer's in nearly two decades. Results from a study on the drug were disclosed Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, at an Alzheimer's conference in San Diego. (Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. via AP)

SAN DIEGO — A drug that curbs delusions in Parkinson’s patients did the same for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in a study that was stopped early because the benefit seemed clear. If regulators agree, the drug could become the first treatment specifically for dementia-related psychosis and the first new medicine for Alzheimer’s in nearly two decades. It targets some of the most troubling symptoms that patients and caregivers face — hallucinations that often lead to anxiety, aggression, and physical and verbal abuse. Although the field is focused on finding a cure for dementia and preventing future cases, “there is a huge unmet need for better treatment” for those who have it now, said Maria Carrillo, the Alzheimer’s Association’s chief science officer. The drug is pimavanserin, a daily pill sold as Nuplazid by Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc. It was approved for Parkinson’s-related psychosis in 2016 and is thought to work by blocking a brain chemical that seems to spur delusions. About 8 million Americans have dementia, and studies suggest that up to 30% of them develop psychosis. “It’s terrifying,” said Dr. Jeffrey Cummings of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. “You believe that people might be trying to hurt you. You believe that people are stealing from you. You believe that your spouse is unfaithful to you. Those are the three most common false beliefs.” He consults for Acadia and helped lead the study, which included about 400 people with dementia and psychosis. All were given a low dose of the drug for three months, and those who seemed to respond or benefit were then split into two groups. Half continued on the drug and the others were given dummy pills for six months or until they had a relapse or worsening of symptoms. Neither the patients nor their doctors knew who was getting what. Independent monitors stopped the study when they saw that those on dummy pills were more than twice as likely as those on the drug to relapse or worsen — 28% versus nearly 13%. There were relatively few serious side effects — 5% in the drug group and 4% in the others. Headaches and urinary tract infections were more common among those on the drug. Two deaths occurred, but study leaders said neither was related to the drug.

Results from sun-skimming craft

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s sun-skimming spacecraft, the Parker Solar Probe, is surprising scientists with its unprecedented close views of our star. Scientists released the first results from the mission Wednesday. They observed bursts of energetic particles never seen before on such a small scale as well as switchback-like reversals in the out-flowing solar magnetic field that seem to whip up the solar wind. NASA’s Nicola Fox compared this unexpected switchback phenomenon to the cracking of a whip. “They’re striking and it’s hard to not think that they’re somehow important in the whole problem,” said Stuart Bale of the University of California, Berkeley, who was part of the team. Researchers said they also finally have evidence of a dust-free zone encircling the sun. Farther out, there’s so much dust from vaporizing comets and asteroids that one of 80 small viewfinders on one instrument was pierced by a grain earlier this year. “I can’t say that we don’t worry about the spacecraft. I mean, the spacecraft is going through an environment that we’ve never been before,” Fox said. Launched in 2018, Parker has come within 15 million miles of the sun and will get increasingly closer — within 4 million miles — over the next six years. It’s completed three of 24 orbits of the sun, dipping well into the corona, or upper atmosphere. The goal of the mission is to shed light on some of the mysteries surrounding the sun. Parker will sweep past Venus on Dec. 26 for the second gravity-assist of the $1.5 billion mission and make its fourth close solar encounter in January.

Profs make impeachment case

WASHINGTON — Three leading legal scholars testified Wednesday that President Donald Trump’s attempts to have Ukraine investigate Democratic rivals are grounds for impeachment, bolstering the Democrats’ case as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made sure they’re prepared for that momentous next step. Meeting behind closed doors ahead of an initial Judiciary Committee hearing to consider potential articles of impeachment, Pelosi asked House Democrats a simple question: “Are you ready?” The answer was a resounding yes. Though no date has been set, the Democrats are charging toward a Christmastime vote on removing the 45th president. It’s a starkly partisan undertaking, a situation Pelosi hoped to avoid but now seems inevitable. Trump is alleged to have abused the power of his office by putting personal political gain over national security interests, engaging in bribery by withholding $400 in military aid Congress had approved for Ukraine; and then obstructing Congress.

Classic Blue is color of the year

NEW YORK — In these uneasy times, as we move along to a new decade, the Pantone Color Institute has reached back in time to calming, confident Classic Blue as its color of the year for 2020. The color is an anchor offering stability, constancy and connection, said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the global purveyors of color consulting, trendspotting and analysis. “It’s a reassuring presence,” she said ahead of Wednesday’s reveal. Akin to maritime blue — not indigo and brighter than navy — Classic Blue evokes a feeling of vast expanse, Pressman said of the shade also known as Pantone 19-4052. Pressman and her team scoured the worlds of art, fashion and home decor, along with commercial, graphic and industrial design, to come up with the pick, as they have since Cerulean became the inaugural color of the year for the milestone 2000. But Classic Blue isn’t just about nostalgia. Creators around the globe are putting out modern takes for runways, mobile phones, kitchen appliances and the paint of pricey, forward-looking cars and motorcycles. At Wednesday’s launch event, Pressman insisted the color was in no way a nod to the hue associated with the Democratic Party, though she knew the question would surface. “This was not a political move for us. This is global. We do not look at color through a political lens. We look at our life through a colorful lens,” she told the AP. Pantone chose Living Coral for 2019 and Ultra Violet in 2018.

19 rescued from snowed-in home

SPALDING TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Authorities in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula have rescued 19 members of a family who became marooned in a snowed-in cabin after a weekend blizzard swept the area. The Menominee County Road Commission said a joint rescue team rescued 10 children and nine adults Monday from the cabin in Menominee County’s Spalding Township using an all-terrain vehicle. The rescued relatives ranged in age from 1 to 64. They had been there since Saturday. The cabin is located about 6 miles off the main road along an unplowed road that was buried under a 2-foot snowfall. Road Commission Assistant Engineer Darrell Cass said a plow truck sent to the site got stuck before a grader freed it. That vehicle then got within a quarter-mile of the cabin and Emergency Medical Services took over and got the family out safely. The owner of LaBranche Tavern housed the family for about five hours, giving them coffee and hot cocoa, before they left for home hours later. Tavern owner Lauri Carlson says she was happy she could help “so they could be safe and be warm.”

African elephant had long life

OAKLAND, Calif. — A 50-year-old matriarch of the Oakland Zoo’s African elephant herd died suddenly long after surpassing the 17-year median lifespan for such elephants in captivity. Zoo officials announced the death Wednesday, saying they found M’Dunda collapsed in the elephant habitat, and she died Tuesday before vets could help her. They said the elephant showed no signs of medical issues despite her advanced age. The University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine will determine the cause of death. M’Dunda was the third oldest African elephant in an Association of Zoos and Aquariums zoo. She came to the Oakland Zoo in 1993 from the San Diego Zoo and quickly built a reputation as gentle and kind. She celebrated her 50th birthday in September.

The world’s still all goin’ to pot

SAN ANTONIO — Willie Nelson may have given up smoking, but he hasn’t stopped using marijuana. While in San Antonio last week for two performances, the 86-year-old country music legend told KSAT TV that in an effort to take better care of himself, he no longer smokes. Nelson, a longtime marijuana advocate, said he “started smoking cedar bark, went from that to cigarettes to whatever.” Nelson, who owns a company that sells marijuana products, says: “I have abused my lungs quite a bit in the past, so breathing is a little more difficult these days and I have to be careful.” His spokeswoman, Elaine Shock, said Wednesday that Nelson hasn’t given up cannabis, and she points out there are different ways to consume it. “That said,” she said “Willie does what he wants, when he wants, when it comes to smoking.” One thing though Nelson won’t be giving up is touring. “I love the bus. This is my home.”

Reptile owners must register pets

PITTSBURGH — Owners of alligators and other dangerous reptiles in Pittsburgh will be required to register their pets with the city under an ordinance that was approved Tuesday. The ordinance requires owners of alligators, crocodiles and venomous snakes to store and transport their pets in escape-proof containers. The owners must also provide the city with a list of each reptile they own. Rooms and buildings housing the animals also must be posted with notice that they contain reptiles. City Councilwoman Darlene Harris, who sponsored the bill, said regulations are needed, particularly after a number of loose alligators appeared in the city in recent months. At least four alligators were captured from May to October in the city and surrounding municipalities. First-time violators could face a $300 fine per reptile. Repeat offenders could be assessed a fine of $10,000 per reptile.

Bulldogs stolen in 2 burglaries

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Investigators in Florida’s Palm Beach County are searching for a dog thief targeting a particular high-end breed. The first French bulldog reported missing was Arthur. The tan and brown Frenchie had been inside a kennel in a home that was burglarized Monday. The owners were able to recover him from women who said they found him, deputies posted on social media Wednesday. The same day Arthur went missing, a black and white bulldog named Natallia was taken from another home about two miles from the first home that was hit near West Palm Beach. She is still missing.

Tejano singer to launch comeback

HOUSTON — A Tejano singer who was convicted of raping an underage female relative and imprisoned for more than a decade is preparing to relaunch his career with a sold-out show in Houston, despite the original terms of his release barring him from visiting the city and surrounding county because the victim lives there. Jose “Joe” Lopez, 69, served 12 years of his 20-year-sentence for raping his then-13-year-old niece in 2004 in Rancho Viejo, a small town outside Brownsville. He was released in March 2018 under several conditions, including that he register as a sex offender and that he not visit Harris County, which is where his niece lives. Lopez has maintained his innocence. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles decided last week to allow Lopez to enter the county “solely for employment purposes,” according to the board’s spokesman, Raymond Estrada. “In making the decision, the parole panel reviewed his satisfactory compliance with parole since his release date of March 2018,” Estrada said. “Additionally, the board recognizes the importance of employment as being a critical component to successful reentry for offenders, and if public safety is not compromised, we support such initiatives.” Andy Kahan, a victims advocate at Crime Stoppers of Houston who says he has been a supporter of Lopez’s victim for years, described the board’s decision as a “slap in the face.” “I can’t fathom their rationale for allowing this to happen,” he said. “How can I in good conscience now tell victims we can get that in the conditions of their release when it’s subject to being easily removed and changed?” Lopez’s manager, Sandra Vallejo, said Lopez is seeking to get exonerated. “For every one person against him, there are three more who support him,” said Vallejo, who noted that Lopez has been busy rehearsing.

Germany expels Russian diplomats

BERLIN — Germany expelled two Russian diplomats Wednesday over the brazen killing of a Georgian on the streets of Berlin in August as prosecutors said evidence suggested the slaying was ordered either by Moscow or authorities in Russia’s republic of Chechnya. The allegation by Germany’s federal prosecutor’s office was the latest from a Western European nation accusing Russia of an attack on its soil, after Britain last year blamed Moscow for an attempt to poison a former Russian spy in the English city of Salisbury. Russia denied those allegations, and similarly Russia’s ambassador to Germany Sergey Nechaev rejected the accusations in the Berlin killing, while threatening consequences for the expulsion of its diplomats. “Such German action will have a strong negative impact on the Russian-German relations and naturally will not be left unanswered,” Nechaev said in a statement. The case comes at a delicate time in relations between the two nations, as Germany pursues a hard line on sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea, but at the same time is working on a joint pipeline project to bring Russian gas directly to Germany under the Baltic. Germany also needs Russia’s help to salvage the nuclear deal with Iran, which has been unraveling since President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of it unilaterally last year.

668,000 will lose food stamps

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of thousands of Americans who rely on the federal food stamp program will lose their benefits under a new Trump administration rule that will tighten work requirements for recipients. The move by the administration is the latest in its attempt to scale back the social safety net for low-income Americans. It is the first of three proposed rules targeting the Supplemental Nutrition Program, known as SNAP, to be finalized. The program feeds more than 36 million people. The plan, announced Wednesday, will limit states from exempting work-eligible adults from having to maintain steady employment in order to receive benefits. The Agriculture Department estimates the change would save roughly $5.5 billion over five years and cut benefits for roughly 688,000 SNAP recipients. That’s down from its original estimate that 750,000 people would lose benefits. Under current rules, work-eligible able-bodied adults without dependents and between the ages of 18 and 49 can currently receive only three months of SNAP benefits in a three-year period if they don’t meet the 20-hour work requirement. But states with high unemployment rates or a demonstrable lack of sufficient jobs can waive those time limits.

Woman dead, bank suspect caught

LU VERNE, Iowa — Investigators said Wednesday they have a suspect in custody after a shooting during a bank robbery in a small northern Iowa town left one woman dead. Mitch Mortvedt of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said a suspect was detained Wednesday, hours after the robbery and shooting at the only bank in Lu Verne, a town of about 250 people. Mortvedt said a female employee was “just walking into the bank” when she was shot Wednesday morning. The statement said investigators believe they have the perpetrator in custody following a traffic stop on Interstate 35. Mortvedt said the vehicle and its occupant matched the description of the alleged bank robber, but that the person was detained for questioning without incident.

Defect found in another airbag

DETROIT — A new and distinct problem has been discovered in air bags made by the now bankrupt company Takata which has led to at least one death. The recently discovered malfunction is different than the defect that led to at least 24 deaths and hundreds of injuries worldwide, though the result, like the earlier issue, leads to air bags that can explode and hurl shrapnel, killing or injuring people. Takata is adding about 1.4 million front driver inflators to recalls in the U.S., according to government documents posted Wednesday. BMW is warning owners of some older 3-series cars to stop driving them.

Man threw dog from bridge

PENSACOLA, Fla. — A Florida man was arrested Tuesday following accusations that he threw a pit bull off a bridge, authorities said. Stephen Howard, 39, was charged with two counts of animal cruelty. A witness had called the sheriff’s office to report seeing a man throw a dog over the side of a bridge near Pensacola. The Pensacola News Journal reports that the 12-foot-tall bridge runs over a small offshoot of Bayou Grande, with rocks lining both of its banks. Deputies said they didn’t see Howard throwing the dog from the bridge but found the animal underneath it, wet and shaking. Animal control took possession of the dog, which authorities said had suffered large cuts.

Trump aims for role of statesman

WATFORD, England — Aiming to play the role of global statesman as the impeachment drama was unfolding in Washington, President Donald Trump instead shattered NATO’s professed message of unity at its 70th anniversary celebration in England and put his personal and policy differences with alliance members on stark display. Trump called Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “two-faced” and French President Emanuel Macron “nasty” during a 52-hour trip that exposed the alliance’s divisions on military budgets and relations with Turkey, as well as the U.S. leader’s own unconventional ways on the world stage. At the same time, he found it difficult to leave behind events in Washington, lashing out as House Democrats resumed their push for impeachment over Trump’s call for Ukraine to investigate a political rival. He said it was “sad” that Democrats were pushing ahead with the inquiry when “there was no crime whatsoever and they know it.” Trump, looking to showcase foreign policy wins as he heads into an election year, offered a more optimistic outlook for NATO’s future. He took credit for boosting the share of NATO nations that are meeting the alliance’s goal of spending 2% of gross domestic on defense and sought to pressure more countries to increase their military budgets. But he also put a spotlight on his administration’s lingering to-do list: ending a China trade war he instigated, passing the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement as well as trade deals with the European Union and Britain. A day after Trudeau was overheard gossiping about Trump during a reception at Buckingham Palace, Trump called the Canadian leader “two-faced.” In an unguarded conversation, Trudeau told leaders, including Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, that “he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top,” an apparent reference to Trump’s long and unscheduled question-and-answer session with journalists earlier that day. Trudeau also said, seemingly about his meeting with Trump, “You just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor.”

1 hurt in Pearl Harbor shooting

HONOLULU — A shooting at a Pearl Harbor naval shipyard in Hawaii left at least one person injured Wednesday, but it’s not clear if the shooter has been apprehended. Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam spokesman Charles Anthony confirmed that there was an active shooting at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. The military tweeted that it began around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. The shipyard repairs, maintains and modernizes the ships and submarines of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, which is headquartered at Pearl Harbor. It’s the home port for 10 destroyers and 15 submarines. The shipyard is across the harbor from the Pearl Harbor National Memorial, which on Saturday will mark the 78th anniversary of the Japanese attack that propelled the U.S. into World War II. More than 2,300 Americans died in the attack on Dec. 7, 1941.

Zimmerman sues Martin’s family

BARTOW, Fla. — Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who was acquitted of the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, is suing the teen’s parents, family attorney, the attorney’s book publisher and prosecutors who tried his case, claiming he was defamed when they allowed a witness to give false testimony in an attempt to incriminate him. Zimmerman’s lawsuit, filed Wednesday, said a trial witness pretended to be the last person to talk to Martin by phone before he was killed when the witness was actually the half-sister of the caller. According to the lawsuit, Brittany Diamond Eugene didn’t want to testify that she had been talking to Martin before he was killed. So her half-sister, Rachel Jeantel, pretended that she was talking to the teen before he was fatally shot. Jeantel ended up testifying at Zimmerman’s 2013 trial in Sanford, Florida. The lawsuit, filed in a central Florida county where Zimmerman is now living, seeks $100 million for allegations of malicious prosecution and conspiracy.

Drug can curb dementia’s delusions

SAN DIEGO — A drug that curbs delusions in Parkinson’s patients did the same for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in a study that was stopped early because the benefit seemed clear. If regulators agree, the drug could become the first treatment specifically for dementia-related psychosis and the first new medicine for Alzheimer’s in nearly two decades. It targets some of the most troubling symptoms that patients and caregivers face — hallucinations that often lead to anxiety, aggression, and physical and verbal abuse. Results were disclosed Wednesday at a conference in San Diego. “This would be a very important advance,” said one independent expert, Dr. Howard Fillit, chief science officer of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation. Although the field is focused on finding a cure for dementia and preventing future cases, “there is a huge unmet need for better treatment” for those who have it now, said Maria Carrillo, the Alzheimer’s Association’s chief science officer.

Judge dismisses Dillinger suit

INDIANAPOLIS — A nephew of 1930s gangster John Dillinger needs a cemetery’s permission to exhume the notorious criminal’s Indianapolis gravesite to prove whether he’s actually buried there, a judge ruled Wednesday in dismissing the nephew’s lawsuit against the cemetery. Marion County Superior Court Judge Timothy Oakes granted Crown Hill Cemetery’s motion to dismiss Michael Thompson’s lawsuit, saying Indiana law requires the cemetery’s consent. “The limited question before the Court today is whether disinterment may occur under this section of the statute without cemetery approval. Court finds that the statutory requirements for this section of the statute are clear in that disinterment requires the cemetery owner to give consent before disinterment may occur,” Oakes wrote. He added that Indiana law “does not require that the cemetery have a valid, rational, or meaningful reason” for withholding its consent. Thompson sued the cemetery in August after it objected to his plans to exhume the grave as part of a television documentary. Thompson has said he has evidence Dillinger’s body may not be buried there, and that he may not have been the man FBI agents fatally shot outside a Chicago theater on July 22, 1934. The History Channel dropped out of the planned documentary in September.

Results from sun-skimming craft

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s sun-skimming spacecraft, the Parker Solar Probe, is surprising scientists with its unprecedented close views of our star. Scientists released the first results from the mission Wednesday. They observed bursts of energetic particles never seen before on such a small scale as well as switchback-like reversals in the out-flowing solar magnetic field that seem to whip up the solar wind. NASA’s Nicola Fox compared this unexpected switchback phenomenon to the cracking of a whip. “They’re striking and it’s hard to not think that they’re somehow important in the whole problem,” said Stuart Bale of the University of California, Berkeley, who was part of the team. Researchers said they also finally have evidence of a dust-free zone encircling the sun. Farther out, there’s so much dust from vaporizing comets and asteroids that one of 80 small viewfinders on one instrument was pierced by a grain earlier this year.

Classic Blue is color of the year

NEW YORK — In these uneasy times, as we move along to a new decade, the Pantone Color Institute has reached back in time to calming, confident Classic Blue as its color of the year for 2020. The color is an anchor offering stability, constancy and connection, said Laurie Pressman, vice president of the global purveyors of color consulting, trendspotting and analysis. “It’s a reassuring presence,” she told The Associated Press ahead of Wednesday’s reveal. Akin to maritime blue — not indigo and brighter than navy — Classic Blue evokes a feeling of vast expanse, Pressman said of the shade also known as Pantone 19-4052. Pressman and her team scoured the worlds of art, fashion and home decor, along with commercial, graphic and industrial design, to come up with the pick, as they have since Cerulean became the inaugural color of the year for the milestone 2000.

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